UK’s austerity drive cut 270,000 jobs in 2011
More than 30,000 NHS workers and 71,000 in education were among more than a quarter of a million public sector staff who lost their jobs in 2011 in Britain as the government’s austerity measures started to bite. (Guardian)

Pay-TV probe to include Netflix
UK regulators examining British Sky Broadcasting’s position in the pay-TV movies market have expanded the scope of their investigation to include online providers such as Netflix and Lovefilm. (FT)

MF Global clients’ details published
Private clients of MF Global reacted angrily on Wednesday to what several said was a severe breach of privacy, after KPMG, administrator to the UK arm of the failed futures broker, published their identities, home addresses and the sums owed to them. (FT)

MUFJ weighs up European bank assets
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has weighed up close to 100 billion euros of European bank asset portfolios that shrinking rivals are seeking to offload, according to the man in charge of the Japanese group’s global expansion. (FT)

UKFI looks at early sale of RBS stake
Privatisation of Royal Bank of Scotland could start sooner than expected after the organisation charged with managing the government’s bank stakes said shares could initially be sold at a loss. (FT)

UK coalition not seen as business-friendly
One in three of the UK’s biggest companies think that the coalition government is not business friendly, according to the first FT/ICSA Business Bellwether survey. (FT)